The West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group (WA WG) Co-Chairs, Algeria and Germany, hosted the WA WG’s Fifth Plenary Meeting in Cotonou, Benin from 11 to 13 June 2024, with the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as their implementing partner. The meeting brought together regional and international partners to consult on the priority areas for counterterrorism capacity-building in the region for the coming two years. Read more »

The GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law  Working Group (CJ-RoL WG), co-chaired by Italy and Nigeria, with the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) as the Implementing Partner, organized an expert meeting to discuss existing good practices to protect witnesses and justice officials participating in terrorism cases’ proceedings. The one-day expert meeting was followed by the second Plenary Meeting of the Working Group under the auspices of its Co-Chairs. 

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The Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Working Group Co-Chairs, Australia and Indonesia, reflect on delivered activities in their Twelfth Plenary organized on the margins of the 23rd GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya to strategize on the way forward to seek more cross-functional partnerships for a cohesive and integrated approach to preventing and countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism (P/CVE).

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The West Africa Working Group held a side event on the margins of the GCTF’s 23rd Coordinating Committee Meeting to take stock of its achievements over the last 5 years. Regional partners explored how the Working Group’s regional meetings, supported by tailored national capacity-building activities, have benefited practitioners locally in their fight against terrorism, and how needs-focused regional events could further contribute to strengthening regional inter-agency and cross-border cooperation.

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From 5-7 December, the West Africa Working Group (WAWG) held their second Disrupt the Networks event with a focus on preventing terrorist groups from acquiring Small Arms and Light Weapons, Ammunitions and Unmanned Aircraft Systems in the context of terrorist violence in West Africa. The meeting took place in Banjul, The Gambia. The regional event followed a previous 'Disrupt the Networks' event, which took place in Lomé, Togo, in June 2023, that focused on countering terrorist Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) networks.

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The FTF Working Group, Co-Chaired by Jordan and the United States, with the support of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as implementing partner, arranged an in-person event where interactive simulations allowed practitioners and experts at the working-level to engage on the topic to uncover the challenges and dilemmas practitioners are faced with when reintegrating FTFs and their family members into their local communities.

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GCTF CJROL Working Group and the IIJ’s CT PHARE facility, collaborate on the right to a fair trial, to be able to examine an accused person’s journey along the entire justice chain. The side event was held on margins of the 22^nd Coordinating Committee Meeting and the 13^th Ministerial Meeting in New York, where insights were shared from the recently held survey with experts and practitioners.

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There is a growing concern of increased polarization in our societies and its connection to violent extremism. To tackle this phenomenon, useful tools and guidance were developed to support capacity building and stronger cooperation at the national and local levels through two initiatives led by the GCTF CVE Working Groups Co-Chairs, Australia and Indonesia. They were presented and endorsed by the GCTF Members during the 22nd GCTF Coordinating Committee Meeting (18 September) and the 13th  Ministerial Plenary Meeting (20 September).

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Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have become a weapon of choice for terrorist groups in West Africa. They are simple to design, and their components remain cheap and easily accessible. The consequence is a steadily increasing number of IED attacks, harming innocent civilians. For regional governments, effectively responding to IED attacks is challenging due to their complex networks and illicit supply chains. To encourage dialogue and best practice sharing, a regional, three-day, in-person meeting, ‘Preventing and Countering the Acquisition and Use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by Terrorist Groups in West Africa’ was held, led by the West Africa Working Group Co-Chairs, Algeria, and Germany.

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